Effective 1 July 2015, the currently four-member Executive Board of Carl Zeiss AG headed by President and CEO Dr. Michael Kaschke will be expanded to include a new member responsible for the Vision Care and Consumer Optics business groups. After the expansion of the Executive Board in December 2013, this marks a further consistent implementation of the goal to position the company as a portfolio enterprise organized in line with market segments.

New Member of the Executive Board responsible for the Vision Care and Consumer Optics business groups: Dr. Matthias Metz

By resolution of the Supervisory Board of Carl Zeiss AG, the Executive Board of Carl Zeiss AG will be expanded effective 1 July 2015. Dr. Matthias Metz (44) will be appointed as the fifth Member of the Executive Board. Immediately after joining the company, he will become the head of the Vision Care business group. From the beginning of fiscal year 2015/2016, in his responsibilities as a Member of the Executive Board the Consumer Optics business group will report to him.

“The expansion of the Executive Board under the leadership of Dr. Kaschke is in line with the company’s strategy to strengthen the consumer brand businesses,” says Dr. Dieter Kurz, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Carl Zeiss AG. “This marks a further consistent implementation of the goal to position ZEISS as a portfolio company organized according to market segment. With Dr. Metz, we have succeeded in gaining an experienced entrepreneur from the consumer goods industry for ZEISS.”

Dr. Metz will also be appointed as President and CEO of the Carl Zeiss AG’s subsidiary Carl Zeiss Vision International GmbH, in which the major activities of the Vision Care are bundled. The current Members of the Management Board of the Vision Care business group, Dr. Raymund Heinen, Ulrich Krauss and Sven Hermann will continue to serve on Vision Care’s Management Board. Dr. Manfred Klingel will leave the Management Board of the Business Group to pursue new opportunities. The Executive Board of Carl Zeiss AG and the Management Board of the Business Group Vision Care thank Dr. Klingel for his great commitment and his key contributions over recent years, in particular in the operations area, and extend their best wishes to him for the future.

“Since 2011 we have repositioned the Vision Care business group and developed into a business group which is clearly contributing to the earnings of the ZEISS Group in terms of both its cash flow and EBIT,” says Dr. Kaschke. “We look forward to continuing along this road with Dr. Metz. We expect his appointment to the Executive Board to provide new momentum which we will use to further develop the Vision Care business group as an innovative and high quality provider of solutions for vision care professionals and their consumers.”

Dr. Matthias Metz (44) is moving to ZEISS from Fackelmann GmbH + Co. KG, Hersbruck, where he most recently held the position of Chief Sales and Marketing Officer. Prior to this, he had served on the Board of Directors at ZWILLING J.A. Henckels AG in Solingen and worked a number of years for the management consultancy McKinsey. Dr. Metz has many years of experience in international management, particularly in North America, Europe, and through his several years as the Managing Director responsible for sales, production and sourcing activities of the ZWILLING Group also in China. He earned a doctorate in economics and social sciences at the University of Lüneburg, Germany, after having received a degree in business administration at the University of Nuremberg, Germany.

Allocation of responsibilities on the Executive Board

With the exception of the changes associated with the new membership of Dr. Metz, the allocation of business responsibilities on the Executive Board of Carl Zeiss AG will remain unchanged.